By Shane Romig, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRESThe International Monetary Fund has presented a report to Argentine authorities with specific recommendations for developing a new, nationwide consumer price index to replace the much-criticized current index, the fund said in a press release Monday.
An IMF mission was in Buenos Aires for a week to consult with federal and provincial authorities after the government invited them in to revamp the country's inflation reporting.
The IMF didn't provide details of the recommendations in the report, but thanked officials from the national statistics agency, Indec, as well as authorities from the provinces of Cordoba, Jujuy, Mendoza and Santa Fe.
The credibility of Indec's economic data--especially data on inflation--has been called into question since former President Nestor Kirchner replaced long- serving staff with political appointees in 2007, which led to a sharp divergence between government data and private-sector estimates.
The government of President Cristina Fernandez, Kirchner's widow, denies allegations that it manipulates Indec data. The administration regularly downplays the seriousness of inflation, attributing whatever pricing pressures that might exist in the economy to supply constraints and price gouging.
But prices are soaring amid an economic boom, loose monetary policy and high government spending. The Argentine economy is expected to expand by over..Read Full Article
